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Joao Silva’s First Steps to Recovery

Yes, that is big news. Mr. Silva, a photographer for The New York Times, lost both his legs last October when he stepped on an antipersonnel mine in Afghanistan. Three weeks ago, his friends and colleagues were cheering the fact that he was able to leave the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a few hours in a wheelchair and scoot around Washington.

What happened Monday astonished them even more. “The therapist fitted my legs and asked me if I’d like to walk,” Mr. Silva said. “So off I went. Must have walked up and down that ramp 20 times. Could not get enough of it.”